Apple Bourbon Spice Doughnuts

Growing up in Portland, Oregon my favorite part of each fall season was driving out to the countryside with my family to go pumpkin picking at the same farm each year! Once we picked out pumpkins, my parents would buy a bag of spiced apple doughnuts for the family to share as we headed back home. These Apple Bourbon Spice doughnuts may not have been age-appropriate for my pre-teen self with the boost of bourbon, but they remind me oh-so-much of those apple spiced doughnuts in my memory!

Core Ingredients in Apple Bourbon Baked Doughnuts

Cinnamon Applesauce & Grated Apples

My main purpose for using applesauce is to ensure that these doughnuts are jam-packed with flavor due to both the flecks of grated apple and cinnamon applesauce! Outside of the additional flavor, applesauce is used within a number of recipes as a replacement for butter and/or oil. It adds more fiber and moisture to baked goods as well which helps to preserve them for a longer amount of time. In addition, the reduced amount of fat can be a good alternative for those that are attempting to limit their intake.

Using Bourbon Butter

Once the apple spice doughnuts have completed baking, it's time for one of my favorite parts... Bourbon Butter! After removing the doughnuts from the baking tray, I brush each doughnut with bourbon butter while they're still warm so that the melted butter can seep into the cake doughnut before coating in sugar. The rich, warm tones of the butter & bourbon combination has got to be one of my new favorite combinations!

Coating with Spiced Sugar

When adding spices to sugar, I usually use a ratio of 1 part sugar and 1/10 part spices. So, for example, I tend to weigh 100 grams of sugar then add ten grams of whichever spice(s) I prefer. It's a great recipe to coat sugar cookies, doughnuts, sprinkle on creme brûlées, or garnish on top of various baked goods!

Cake Doughnuts vs Fried

While fried doughnuts tend to increase in volume due to the addition of yeast, baked doughnuts rise due to leaveners such as baking soda, baking powder, and eggs. The baked doughnuts tend to be smaller with a pillowy inside and a glaze or sugar coating on top. When doughnuts are fried, the outside crisps up, while the inside slowly cookies due to the heat of the oil. Both are absolutely scrumptious - but today is the day for an apple spice cake doughnut!

The Method

Let's get into how to mix, bake these Apple Bourbon Baked Doughnuts!

1. First off, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F before making your doughnut batter.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ground cinnamon and set aside.
3. Then in a larger bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, granulated sugar, buttermilk, nutmeg, and applesauce mixing together until everything has fully combined.
4. Gently fold in your grated Honeycrisp apple, then the dry ingredients until combined.
5. Spray donut pan with a light layer of non-stick cooking spray.
6. Pipe the doughnut batter into your doughnut pan filling each cavity just over halfway, then place the tray in the oven to bake for 11-12 minutes.
7. While your doughnuts are baking, whisk together the cinnamon and sugar and melt 2 Tbsp. of butter. Add Bourbon to the melted butter and gently mix to combine.
8. After baking, allow the doughnuts to cool for 3-5 minutes before brushing the tops with Bourbon butter then immediately coat in cinnamon sugar before enjoying!

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Storing Bourbon Spice Doughnuts

Technically, you can store cake doughnuts in an air-tight container in a dry, cool space for up to three days. This being said, I would highly recommend baking and enjoying these Apple Bourbon Spice doughnuts rather promptly! Doughnuts are best straight from the oven or fryer as their cake-like consistency can dry out quite quickly.